Beer And Politics

Very late post. I forgot my laptop at the office yesterday. Anyway, Mrs. C and I attended a fundraiser last night for Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri, who is up for re-election this year. Clare is a blue beacon in an increasingly red state and we support her strongly. (On the other hand, our super right wing Republican governor, who makes our skin crawl, may be about to be forced out of office over a sex scandal and/or indited for a couple of things. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.)

We had hopes Claire would be there but, of course, she was stuck in Washington with the shutdown nonsense. Her sister, Ann McCaskill, spoke passionately on her behalf. The venue was STL's most popular Irish pub, McGurk's. Guiness and Smithwick's flowed freely. People paid close attention. Certainly Samuel Beckett did. Oscar Wilde, maybe not so much.     

Winter skies, winter tree

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It's definitely winter now in Israel: rain clouds, bare branches, and jackets.
And fruit is growing on the sabras.
A picture from our trip to Zippori in the Lower Galilee last Wednesday.
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(Linking to Sky Watch Friday.)
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The lure of Jordan water

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Thursday/Friday was the Feast of Epiphany (Theophany) for the Orthodox Christians in Israel.
Hundreds of pilgrims and their Patriarchs and clergy came in procession to Kasr al Yahud to worship and celebrate the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist, perhaps at this very spot on the River Jordan.

When my Jewish group from Meitar visited there a few weeks ago, this sweet little Russian boy was the only one touching the waters of the holy Jordan.
The wooden steps on the other side are already in the Kingdom of Jordan, across the border.

See my previous posts for more about this baptism site.

(Linking to Weekend Reflections.)
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Fancy Golf Cars

I'm not sure, but would guess the foremost golf car cost $20,000 or more. There are about 80,000 golf cars in The Villages at last count and The Villages continues to grow by leaps and bounds.

Sculpture With A Chain Saw

Where do you go to learn ice sculpture? It is an art with narrow applications and not a lot of room for self expression. The subjects don't vary much. This one is becomming a big and little penguin.

Still, there is a lot of skill in this. It amazes me that it is done freehand, no template, not even a sketch to look at. A chain saw is not a precise tool. The fine work is done with picks and chisels. The sculptor uses a blowtorch for smoothing. Can you make a living doing this?